The present invention relates to devices for facilitating clean and efficient dispensing of detergent substances into a beverage brewing apparatus for cleaning the apparatus and preventing spilling of the detergent substance on the apparatus.
Various forms of beverage brewing apparatus are available. For example, there are manual apparatus as well as automatic apparatus. A typical beverage brewing apparatus, regardless of whether it is manual or automatic, infuses a brewing substance with a quantity of heated water. The brewing substance is retained in a filter and the infusing water is introduced and allowed to seep through the brewing substance and drain through the filter.
An example of an automatic beverage brewing apparatus can be found in U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 07/683,285 to Bunn, et al., filed Mar. 26, 1992, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/818,850 to Bunn, et al., filed Aug. 30, 1991 (a continuation of Ser. No. 07/683,285). The above-mentioned applications both show automatic beverage brewing apparatus which have brewing chambers for brewing a beverage therein. The brewing apparatus as shown in these two examples also include a device for delivering a selected quantity of a selected beverage brewing substance to the brewing chamber. The device for delivering the substance includes storage hoppers and an assembly for dispensing material from the hoppers. A discharge chute of the dispensing assembly is positioned to deliver beverage brewing substances dispensed from the hoppers to the brewing chamber.
It is desirable to periodically clean the beverage brewing apparatus to remove oils and particulate matter left over from the brewing process. Further, it is desirable to remove any beverage brewing substances from the filter which may not have been removed during a flush cycle. Therefore, in order to clean the beverage brewing apparatus it is necessary to deposit a cleaning material or detergent substance into the brewing chamber portion of the apparatus to facilitate cleaning.
A variety of cleaning materials are available for use in cleaning the brewing chamber. The cleaning materials include liquids, powders, flakes, and range from colorless and odorless to colored and having a distinct and undesirable taste.
A problem arises in dispensing the cleaning material into the brewing chamber. Generally, the discharge chutes from the hoppers are in close proximity over a receiving mouth of the brewing chamber can be difficult. As such, pouring a cleaning material into the brewing chamber. Further, such apparatus quite often have limited frontal or side access and as such create further obstacles in dispensing cleaning material into the brewing chamber.
One way of overcoming these obstacles is to place a funnel in the receiving mouth and dispense the cleaning material into the funnel. While this achieves the goal of placing cleaning material into the brewing chamber, this is a limited solution. A problem with using a funnel is that the funnel is a loose component. Loose components create a problem because they are likely to become lost and may interfere with the mechanical operation of the apparatus if left in the apparatus.
When loose components, such as funnels, become separated from the apparatus with which they were designed to be used, the replacement funnels which are used often are not the proper size and may result in complications when dispensing a cleaning material into the brewing chamber. Additionally, if a funnel does not work properly, an operator may attempt to avoid using a funnel and dispense the cleaning material directly into the receiving mouth of the brewing chamber.
As mentioned above, there is limited space within the brewing apparatus and therefore use of an improperly sized funnel or the absence of a funnel may result in spilling the cleaning material inside the brewing apparatus. The brewing apparatus employs heated water to infuse the beverage brewing substance in the brewed chamber to created a brewed beverage therefrom. Due to the brewing process and the heated water used therein, the ambient humidity level inside of the brewing apparatus is somewhat elevated. As such, it is highly undesirable to have cleaning materials spilled inside of the beverage brewing apparatus in the elevated humidity level because such material may become liquified and seep into other parts of the beverage brewing apparatus or may become caked on the apparatus and cause further problems.
The beverage brewing apparatus operates by means of gears and motors to move various components of the beverage brewing apparatus during a brewing cycle. Heated water lines also run through the beverage brewing apparatus carrying water at at or near boiling temperatures. Because of the mechanical parts and elevated temperatures, a problem is created if a funnel is left in the beverage brewing apparatus in an undesirable location. If a loose component funnel is left inside the beverage brewing apparatus next to a heated water line, the funnel may melt, depending upon the type of plastic material, from the heat of the water line. The melted plastic may cause further complication in the beverage brewing apparatus. Additionally, if a loose component funnel is left in the beverage brewing apparatus and it is left in an undesirable position such that it becomes lodged in a mechanical component, or is vibrated by the operation of the apparatus so that it falls into a mechanical component, such interference with the mechanical components may cause problems.
As an additional matter, a funnel which is not designed for use with the beverage brewing apparatus may result in dispensing the cleaning material into an area, although located within the receiving mouth which may be undesirable. For example, the beverage brewing apparatus, as presented in the two patent applications referred to hereinabove, includes a receiving tube extending upwardly from the brewing chamber. The receiving tube has a mouth at a top end and a throat between the receiving tube and the brewing chamber. A rinse water line is connected to the receiving tube and dispenses a flow of rinse water into the receiving tube to flush particles from the brewing substances delivering device positioned above the receiving mouth down the receiving tube. If the funnel used to dispense cleaning material into the mouth of the receiving tube is incorrectly positioned, cleaning material may be dispensed into the receiving tube at a position above the rinse water nozzle. The cleaning material positioned above the rinse water nozzle will not be automatically flushed during a cleaning cycle and as such may later be vibrated or otherwise being knocked into the brewing chamber during a brewing cycle. A brewed beverage produced during a brewing cycle in which cleaning material is knocked into the brewing substance would be undesirable.
As a final matter, the automatic beverage brewing apparatus as presented in the two applications referred to hereinabove, reduce the amount of manual activity required to produce a brewed beverage. As such, it would be desirable to further eliminate any steps required in the cleaning of the beverage brewing apparatus.